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Settlers barricaded in synagogue
18/08/2005 10:29 - (SA)
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| Jewish settlers pray in the synagogue of the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom in the central Gaza Strip. (Baz Ratner, AP) |
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Kfar Darom - Hundreds of Gaza pullout opponents barricaded themselves behind rolls of barbed wire in the synagogue of this hard line Jewish settlement on Thursday, as security forces surrounded the building on the second day of the forcible removal of settlers.
Thousands of troops marched into Kfar Darom at dawn to remove the settlers, surrounding the synagogue and two other compounds filled with protesters. By mid-morning, the forces began carrying away protesters in shacks and tents at the edges of the settlement.
The fiercest resistance was expected at the synagogue. Several hundred young protesters stood on the fortified roof of the building, anxiously watching the troops and defiantly waving Israeli flags.
Relatively little violence
On Wednesday, the first day of forced evacuation, there was relatively little violence. Sobbing settlers were dragged out of homes and synagogues in six settlements, but most did not put up a fight. In all, 11 of 21 Gaza settlements stood empty on Thursday.
Noga Cohen, a Kfar Darom resident who had three children maimed in a Palestinian shooting attack on a bus, said Israel was surrendering to Palestinian militants. On the door of her house was a sign. "In the event you knock on the door, you are a direct partner in the most terrible crime in the history of the nation of Israel."
Kfar Darom has about 500 residents who have been joined by hundreds of outsiders - many of them extremist teenagers from the West Bank - to resist.
"There will be opposition, I would even say strong opposition," said Uri Ariel, a hard line lawmaker who was in Kfar Darom.
Finishing evacuations as quickly as possible
Security officials said they wanted to wrap up the operation as quickly as possible. "If there are understandings, that would be good. If there are not, we will move the people out anyway," said major general Dan Harel, the commander for the Gaza region.
But residents appeared to be digging in for a stand-off. Posters on the roof of the synagogue said, "For the Lord will not abandon His people or abandon His land", and "Kfar Darom will not fall again". The settlement was briefly populated by Jews before being driven out by Egyptian troops during Israel's war of independence in 1948.
A huge D-9 military bulldozer cleared cement barriers, normally used to protect the community from Palestinian fire, placed in the streets to impede the troops. Lines of buses waited at the entrance of the settlement, prepared to take people away.
Hoping or a peaceful solution
At dawn, hundreds of people crowded into the synagogue for morning prayers, and the forces were waiting for the service to end before removing people. Military officials said they were in talks with settlers in hopes of reaching a peaceful solution.
Officials also hoped to complete the evacuation of Neve Dekalim, Gaza's largest settlement. Police said about 100 of 480 families remained in Neve Dekalim.
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